Titania (Mary MacPherran) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck, the character first appeared in Secret Wars #3 (July 1984). MacPherran is the second character called Titania.Captain America #319 (July 1986)Punisher (vol. 7) #5 (July 2009) She is the rival of the superhero Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk. Originally a supervillain, in later years, she has reformed into more of an antihero. The character has also been a member of the Masters of Evil and the Frightful Four at various points in her history.
The character made her live action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), portrayed by Jameela Jamil.
Development Concept and creation Mary MacPherran is a real-life Marvel production assistant who was asked by Jim Shooter if it was permissible to name a character after her. In 2011, Shooter posted a photo on his blog of a group of Marvel staffers, with a caption identifying the real MacPherran. In a comment, Shooter said of MacPherran:
Publication history Titania debuted in Secret Wars #3 (July 1984), created by writer Jim Shooter and artist Mike Zeck. She appeared in the 2015 Illuminati series, by Joshua Williamson.
Fictional character biography Born prematurely in a suburb of Denver, Colorado, Mary MacPherran grew up scrawny and short-statured, inspiring the popular Vanessa Ashwood at school to nickname her "Skeeter" (a slang word for mosquito). While a high school senior, Mary works as a salesclerk alongside her only friend, Marsha Rosenberg, to support her struggling family. Consistently bullied since childhood by the wealthy and cruel Vanessa and her friends, Mary grows resentful and fantasizes about gaining superpowers to become admired, and exact retribution on her tormentors.
After the second Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter) makes one of her early appearances in their town, Marsha remarks that the new superheroine's reddish-blonde hair color matches Mary's. Mary then falsely confides to her friend that she is secretly Spider-Woman. Shortly afterward, Mary is invited to a fancy party at Vanessa's house where she realizes that her newfound popularity is due to Marsha spreading the false Spider-Woman rumor.
In the middle of the party, their section of Denver is torn from Earth and incorporated into the Beyonder's Battleworld.Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1 (1984) When the real Spider-Woman arrives on the scene to save the guests from a collapsing structure, the now-enraged Vanessa and her guests turn on Mary and Marsha, chasing them into the forests of Battleworld.She-Hulk #10 (2004)
Scared and exhausted, the two girls are found by Doctor Doom. Realizing how emotionally malleable they are, he offers to give them powers if they will serve him; both girls agree.Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #3
Secret Wars Using the highly advanced alien technology found in Doombase and by harnessing immense energies from the ferocious alien storm outside, Doom is able to reconstitute both Mary and Marsha from a molecular level and grant them new superhuman bodies. While Rosenberg (now known as Volcana) receives a fiery form composed of ionized plasma, MacPherran becomes tall, muscular, and physically attractive - the diametric opposite of her previous self.
Titania's physical changes come with changes in personality. Whereas Mary MacPherran had been small and timid, the newly named Titania (seemingly as strong as a Titan) is brash and confident. When Volcana melts machinery into a large pile of red-hot slag, Titania simply picks the heated mass up without harm or concern before hurling it with incredible ability. Soon after, she challenges Carl "Crusher" Creel, the Absorbing Man, to a fight which he refuses, stating that he has "nothing to prove... to a dame." Titania begins to work for Doom in earnest and joins his forces when they attack en masse. She battles Thor,Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #4 Rogue and Wolverine,Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #6 as well as the X-Men. She eventually gets the better of She-Hulk, beginning a long rivalry between the two.Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #7
When the heroes later storm Doombase to rescue She-Hulk, Titania is pitted against Spider-Man. Initially confident since he is much smaller and less imposing than She-Hulk, she panics upon realizing that Spider-Man's vastly superior speed, agility, reflexes, intelligence and years of experience against more powerful foes allow him to not only easily avoid her but also attack her with complete impunity. The fight ends when Spider-Man beats her into the ground, then picks her up and disdainfully tosses her through an exterior wall. During this fight, Titania's newfound arrogance quickly evaporates, giving way to what Spider-Man mockingly calls the "whining little wimp-ette" — it is clear that her arrogance masks the same insecure, fragile personality that she has always possessed.Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8 Mindful of this beating, Titania avoids coming into contact with Spider-Man while on Battleworld,Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #11 (1985) and harbors a fear of him for some time after returning to Earth.The Amazing Spider-Man #283 (1986)
After her run-in with Spider-Man, the Absorbing Man and Titania begin a relationship. Once Owen Reece, the Molecule Man, manages to seal off the chunk of Denver and navigate it toward Earth, Creel and MacPherran finally abandon Doom's cause for the chance to go home.Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #11-12
Upon finally reaching Denver, MacPherran takes the opportunity to track down Vanessa Ashwood, whom she beats up and mocks before tearing her house down. However, she finds that getting revenge brings her no satisfaction, and that if anything, she genuinely regrets harming someone who poses absolutely no threat to her now.
Back to Earth Once back on Earth, Titania and Absorbing Man continue to work as professional criminals by joining Baron Helmut Zemo's incarnation of the Masters of Evil.The Avengers #273 Their first assignment is to recruit Moonstone, which also prevents them from joining the main group in the assault on Avengers Mansion. To kill time, Titania robs a jewelry store and attracts the attention of Spider-Man. Too afraid to fight him, she runs but encounters him again at LaGuardia Airport. Titania avoids fighting, having Creel do so on her behalf. The sight of his near-defeat at Spider-Man's hands proves enough for Titania to temporarily overcome her 'arachnophobia', charging in to save her boyfriend. Creel ends the fight by threatening to destroy a plane full of innocents if Spider-Man refuses to leave the scene, which he reluctantly does.
The villain couple receive another assignment from the Masters: to kill Hercules who had been gravely injured by the Masters and was hospitalized. Despite being guarded by only Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and the Wasp, Hercules survives. Creel is stung by insects in human form and Titania is shrunk to the size of Wasp. She is taken to the Vault, a superhuman penitentiary.The Avengers #275
The stay in the Vault does not last long. When Iron Man begins the "Armor Wars" (the battle to destroy or disable all enhanced armor types based on stolen Iron Man designs), it inevitably leads him to the Guardsmen who are the Vault's prison officers. The ensuing conflict creates a power failure, allowing Titania and Mister Hyde to escape. While Captain America manages to subdue and capture Hyde, his colleague D-Man is unsuccessful in apprehending Titania. When allowed the opportunity for a rematch, D-Man lets her escape because she is far stronger than him.Captain America #340 (1988)
Using her newfound freedom, Titania travels to Washington, D.C. After losing a succession of battles with She-Hulk, Titania willingly returns to jail after falsely promising to end their feud.Solo Avengers #14
Broken out yet again, Titania joins with the Wizard, Klaw and Hydro-Man to become the new Frightful Four. Battling the Fantastic Four with Titania taking on the Thing and Ms. Marvel, the team only wins due to help from Professor Gregson Gilbert's creation Dragon Man and Aron the Renegade Watcher.Fantastic Four #326-328 In the rematch, the Fantastic Four prevails only to have both teams imprisoned by Aron in suspended animation, using clones of the Fantastic Four to act out adventures he wished to witness. When both teams are freed, Aron chooses to witness the dreams of his clones instead and transports the Frightful Four back to The Vault, as a service to the Fantastic Four.Fantastic Four #333 (1989)
Titania permanently overcomes her fear of Spider-Man during the 1989–1990 "Acts of Vengeance" crossover, in which a conspiracy between Loki and the Wizard teams supervillains to fight enemies not usually their own. Titania is dismayed when Doctor Doom, her partner, tells her she would face She-Hulk and not Spider-Man. With the help of a behavior modification device secretly affixed to Titania, Doom stokes her pride and anger, allowing her to engage Spider-Man at the Daily Bugle offices. After Puma tears Doom's device from her, Titania cowers from Spider-Man, but he makes her realize that she had been fighting him the whole time, and resumes attacking. At the time, Spider-Man was temporarily bonded with the Uni-Power, making him Captain Universe. This grants him the power to render Titania unconscious in one massive energy discharge.Web of Spider-Man #59
She is freed on the way to the Vault by Graviton who also collects the Trapster and the Brothers Grimm. All had been humiliated by Spider-Man in the Captain Universe guise and along with Chameleon and Goliath, they make a failing attempt to take revenge. Titania is once again humiliatingly defeated when Spider-Man tricks her into colliding with a city bus.Web of Spider-Man #64-65
Finding romance Escaping The Vault once again, Titania joins Superia's Femizons, as foes of Captain America and the Paladin.Captain America #389-392 This does not work out and Titania resolves to track down her old flame – the Absorbing Man, finding him battling the Eric Masterson Thor. When she appears injured by a blow from Mjolnir, Creel intervenes and confesses his love for her, which she gladly reciprocates. Seeing this, Thor allows them to leave.Thor #436
Though Creel decides to give up on crime and try to go straight, Titania quickly goes back to holding up stores. Concerned, Creel attempts to "scare her straight", collaborating with Thor in a ploy involving an exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum. While the appearance of Spider-Man and special police unit Code: Blue complicates matters, ultimately Titania remembers her love for Creel and the couple are ultimately given parole.Thor #447–448
Creel continues to get mad at Mary for not managing to stay legal and violating their parole. In order to alleviate her stress, he arranges an official bout with She-Hulk, but Titania nonetheless decides to cheat and ends up losing the fight.Thunderstrike #16
Titania and the Absorbing Man's wedding is attended by many supervillains. While the Avengers interrupt the ceremony, they soon depart.Avengers Unplugged #4 Titania quickly grows bored with her law-abiding reform, and after Absorbing Man tries to buy her a Valentine's present but is nonetheless attacked by the police, they accept having to live a life on the run from the law.Marvel Valentine's Special
In need of funds the pair assumes the guises of Thunder Girl and Lightning Bolt in order to hunt Spider-Man for the reward offered by Norman Osborn.The Amazing Spider-Man #429 Despite Titania briefly contracting severe skin burns as a result of this escapade, the pair remains unable to reform and commit more robberies. Titania also continues to clash with She-Hulk.Heroes for Hire #17; Thor (vol. 2) #14; Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #22
Illness and recuperation